The eAction Peace Report
August, 2008
Vol. 1 Number 8

Nuclear Disarmament Movement is 3 for 3 and Gearing up for Round 4

Efforts to de-legitimize nuclear weapons over the past eight years have produced a clean sweep for the disarmament community. After the elimination of the 'bunker buster' the war hawks moved onto 'mini nukes'; 'small', 'portable', and radioactive devices. We defeated those disturbing ideas and moved ahead to confront Bush’s final act, the 'Reliable Replacement Warhead' (RRW) – and we won again.

The next step for Peace Action and our anti-nuclear allies is to defeat 'Complex Transformation' - the Bush administration's $150 billion proposal for rebuilding US nuclear weapons production capabilities to Cold War Levels. This misguided initiative would enable the production of as many as 125 new nuclear warheads a year.

Already in 2008, Peace Action Education Fund and our allies have brought heavy pressure to bear in opposition to this nuclear weapons complex and it will fall upon the next administration to move forward toward abolition or not. Likely, the next president will call for a new Nuclear Posture Review to examine our current programs. Peace Action and its allies will need to intensify our educational efforts to the media, policy makers and the public. Our diligence, then and now, will insure that the work done to date de-legitimizing these weapons is not undermined and the weapons complex is ultimately defeated.

The work for 2009, however, begins with the 2008 elections. The frenzy around this election gives us new avenues for our mission to educate members of Congress, potential members of Congress, and the incoming President on these issues. Peace Action is producing fact sheets and voter guides designed to provide nonpartisan education about nuclear weapons and non-proliferation for use by grassroots activists in the field. We're providing technical support, workshops and resources to anti-nuclear activists nationwide working to register peace voters and get out the vote.

Since the likes of Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, two statesmen no one would describe as progressive, have publicly endorsed nuclear abolition most observers contend the recent political emphasis on this issue is due to elite opinion. We prefer to think it’s because of the tireless work of peaceniks educating the public. Grassroots activists, like you, brought this idea to the political forefront – and it’s way overdue.

The reasons behind Barack Obama’s strong stance in favor of nuclear disarmament and John McCain’s surprisingly good position are not important. No matter who the next president is we will have an unprecedented opportunity to build on our successes defeating Bush Administration’s mad schemes for new nuclear weapons. Now our strategy will pivot to advancing our positive, proactive agenda: eliminating the scourge of nuclear weapons from our planet.

Ultimately, the goal of a successful 'Complex Transformation' campaign is not just the end of a bad idea; it's a political shift towards reducing the United States' nuclear stockpile and demanding our country lead the world toward complete abolishion of nuclear weapons. With a marquee election year, a new Congress, and a series of nonproliferation victories under our belt it's never been a better time to change the conversation.

The argument that nuclear weapons were built for deterrence is antiquated. The real threat now is proliferation to unstable non-state actors like the Taliban. The only way to prevent nuclear proliferation to these groups is by safely destroying them and addressing the challenge to close Pandora's Box.